When tragedy has a name

3:46 PM,
Oct. 25, 2013

Written by

Nancy Poling
OPINION

The Milky Way stretched across the clear night sky. Over the vast expanse, thousands of individual stars were discernible. To my right, Polaris. Vega, almost straight overhead. From the multitude above me I could identify only a few. Astronomers, though, know many by name. Knowing stars by their names makes a difference in how you look at the night sky, I've decided.

Recently I had the privilege to lead a concurrent session at the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference. About 250 (I'm estimating) amateur genealogists gathered to learn more about how to trace their ...